Charles Yallowitz is a rising star of the Fantasy genre. The first two books of his “Legends Of Windemere” are available on Kindle now, and he’s hard at work on the next. In addition, he writes poetry, short stories, and a very entertaining blog. I asked him twenty questions, are here are his answers.

You are building your dream house. Choose three characters from three separate fictional works (not your own) to head up your construction crew.

Spider-Man because he doesn’t need a ladder and is strong enough to do a lot of work, but not too strong. Tom Sawyer because he is highly skilled at convincing other people to do manual labor. Ender Wiggin because he is an intelligent planner who can adjust to new situations.

What album do you play when you are depressed that can be guaranteed to make you feel better?

Greatest Hits of Queen. I can never stay sad when I listen to those songs.

You are on a first date with someone that you find attractive. Your partner picked the restaurant, and it is an ethnic food with which you are not familiar. When you get the menu you realize that you don’t recognize the names of any of the dishes and there are no descriptions. What do you do?

I politely ask my date if she recommends anything and be honest that I have no idea what I’m looking at. This way I don’t make a fool of myself. Maybe this could be a topic of conversation and lead to us finding things we have in common or that we can explore on a second date. If my date takes offense that I’m clueless then there won’t be a second date.

What character from fiction do you wish that you had invented?

I would have loved to be the guy who invented Gollum. He’s such a great character that makes me hate him and feel sorrow for him. A lot of people tend to overlook him in terms of villains, but I think he is one of the greatest.

Have you ever based a character on that character?

No. I’m too scared to try and mess up. I know I’d be the first to point out how terrible a job I’ve done.

How do you backup your work, and how often?

I back up my work on a pen drive every time I make progress, a portable hard drive once a month, and I email my works to myself once I complete a manuscript. You can never have too many backups.

If you had to power to “uninvent” an existing device and make sure that it would never be made, what would it be?

The robodialer or whatever is behind those automated robot calls. They’re annoying and kind of creepy. At least a living being means someone is getting paid and I can ask to get off the call list.

If your life was a sandwich, what would it be?

Buffalo chicken wrap that has a bit too much kick to it. Tastes great, but that bite can sting.

What song from a Broadway musical best describes your ideal relationship?

I’m going to try to get away with Hakuna Matata. I prefer my relationship to be laid back and stress free. Just have fun and live life without a care in the world.

If you could choose a pet that was a reincarnation of a historical figure, who would it be, and what sort of pet?

Alexander the Great as a dwarf hamster. I think it would be hilarious to see such a tiny creature have such grand ambitions. I’d like to believe he would be a little more self-reliant than your typical hamster too.

A comic book superhero approaches you for help in defeating a villain. Who is the character, and how are you able to help?

Professor X and he wants to use my over-active imagination to help him defeat The Shadow King. It would be entirely Astral Realm combat with me acting like an arsenal or a one-man barracks.

If three were four, what would five be?

Pastrami on Pumpernickel.

If you had the power to make everyone on Earth read one book (not your own) what would you pick?

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. I always found it a fun adventure and Long John Silver is a terrific villain. Something about him is both charming and a lurking deadliness that put me on edge when I read it.

If you were a professional wrestler, what would your ring name be?

This reminds me that most of today’s wrestlers uses real names instead of the crazy nicknames of the 80’s. I would call myself ‘Death Bunny’ because I bounce on my toes a lot. In fencing, I jumped and bounced around, which is why people compared me to the rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Would you rather have an action figure or a Pez dispenser based on you?

I would prefer an action figure with kung fu grip and comes with a pen that explodes in his pocket. There would also be a writing desk with so much clutter that he can’t put his laptop on it.

What one superpower would make you a better writer?

The ability to slip into a pocket dimension where I still get wi-fi and there’s a fully stocked mini-fridge. Finding space and privacy seems to be my biggest hurdle since I feel my writing skills will evolve over time regardless of powers. Though, telepathy would be nice too.

If you could spend one day living in the world of a movie, what movie would it be? What would you spend the day doing?

I know it was a graphic novel first, but the world of Stardust looked very appealing to me. It was fantasy with a decent amount of magic, but not a world where monsters were around every corner. I think I would spend the day wandering the countryside and telling stories in taverns. Guess that would make me a bard.

What one emotion more than any other would you like your readers to experience while reading your books?

Really hard to pick one because there are so many that an author needs to bring out in a reader. I would go with ‘Hope’ above all others. I want the readers to hope the characters survive and reach their goals. Even with the villains, I want there to be a connection where part of you wants them to win as well.

If you could send one object that you own to your ten year old self, what would it be?

A fortune cookie fortune that says ‘You will write a book one day’. I keep it in my wallet and it’s beaten up pretty bad, but I think it will get my point across.

If you could live anywhere on Earth, where would it be?

I think I would like to live in either Greece or Italy. I like the idea of being on the Mediterranean Sea. I guess I plan to own a boat or take up fishing in my old or middle age.

I loved the answer to ‘if 3 were 4, what would 5 be’. It reminded me of a saying, don’t ask me why, on a card I sent to someone but I forgot who… gotta love the 60’s. “If a chicken and 1/2 laid and egg and 1/2 in a day and 1/2, how long would it take a caterpillar with a wooden leg to kick all the seeds out of a dill pickle?”